Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2022, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (2): 142-148.doi: 10.11978/2021071CSTR: 32234.14.2021071

• Marine Biology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Molecular identification on the causative species jellyfish blooms in the northern South China Sea in 2019

DU Chong1,2(), HE Jun1, SUN Tingting2, WANG Lei2, WANG Fanghan2, DONG Zhijun2()   

  1. 1. College of Life Sciences, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, China
    2. Muping Coastal Environment Research Station, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, China
  • Received:2021-06-08 Revised:2021-08-15 Online:2022-03-10 Published:2021-08-23
  • Contact: DONG Zhijun E-mail:1069044097@qq.com;zjdong@yic.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Key Research and Development Program of China(2018YFC1406501);Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA23050301);National Natural Science Foundation of China(41876138)

Abstract:

Jellyfish blooms mostly occur in the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea as well as in the East China Sea, but rarely in the South China Sea. We conducted morphological observations and molecular identification of blooming jellyfish in many waters of the northern South China Sea, including Haikou, Wenchang and Maoming in May 2019. Morphological results showed that the jellyfish in Haikou and Wenchang were the same species with hemispherical umbrella, pear-shaped protrusion in the lower reproductive point, and the oral arms are covered with filaments and a whip appendage at the end, which are highly similar to the Acromitus flagellatus. The jellyfish in Maoming were different: the umbrella was relatively flat hemispherical, the subgenital pits were milky protrusions and the oral arms had no filaments, which were similar to Catostylus townsendi. Based on the comparison of mitochondrial ribosomal large subunit (16S rRNA) gene sequences, the blooming jellyfish of Haikou and Wenchang were 97.5% and 97.7% similar to A. flagellatus of the eastern Pacific Ocean, and jellyfish of Maoming was 93.5% similar to C. townsendi from the Strait of Malacca. The phylogenetic tree constructed based on mitochondrial COI gene and 16S rRNA gene suggested that the jellyfish of Haikou and Wenchang were the same and belong to the same branch with A. flagellates; the jellyfish of Maoming were close to C. townsendi. Therefore, combined with morphological observations and molecular analyses, we considered Acromitus flagellatus to be the jellyfish in Haikou and Wenchang, and Catostylus sp. in Maoming.

Key words: Jellyfish bloom, South China Sea, Mitochondrial COI gene, Mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene

CLC Number: 

  • P735.532